With a disappointing 2010 season in the rearview mirror, the Binghamton University women’s soccer team heads into the 2011 campaign with a clean slate and a chip on its shoulder.
2010 didn’t pan out exactly as the Bearcats had drawn it up. With eight underclassmen assuming a lot of responsibility as starters, experience and team chemistry were lacking. The squad’s starting keeper, central striker and a key defender were all hampered by injuries.
Many of Binghamton’s missed opportunities and defensive miscues probably cost them a few wins as the team suffered seven one-goal losses. Binghamton won only four games and missed the playoffs en route to a seventh-place conference finish. In this year’s preseason poll, America East coaches picked Binghamton to finish seventh again. As they take on the role of underdogs, the Bearcats are ready to learn from all the struggles they endured last year and have already begun to turn the page.
For Binghamton, success starts with the offense’s ability to stay aggressive and take pressure off the defense. Last year, the attack managed only 12 goals, which was the lowest scoring output recorded in the program’s 10 years of Division I play. Playing as a more cohesive and sturdy unit will be pivotal in the Bearcats’ ability to turn things around this year.
Juniors Sarah Furminger and Jamie Holliday will be counted on most heavily on the offensive side of the ball. Furminger scored three goals with four assists last season and Holliday posted four goals in 2009 before an injury-plagued 2010 campaign.
But if the Bearcats want to make it back to the postseason this year, improving on defense is also a must. Binghamton allowed 25 goals in 2010 but will look to redefine its defensive core this fall with the additions of sophomore transfer Meghan McCarty and freshman Connie Gormley. McCarty turned heads this spring with her play and promptly earned tri-captain status, while Gormley was an all-state defender as a high school senior last year.
After learning of her starting role at the last minute before the 2010 season, sophomore Carrie Martin will head into the 2011 campaign as an experienced goalkeeper. Martin, who stands at 5 feet, 9 inches, accumulated four shutouts in her first season as a Bearcat and will look to build upon that this year.
Head coach Sarah McClellan, who is in her fourth year at Binghamton, believes that her team’s ability to gel on both sides of the ball will ultimately determine how well the team plays. With 10 returning starters and a number of key additions, the Bearcats have their eyes set on postseason action, and so far, it looks like that determination is paying off.
Binghamton kicked off the 2011 season with a devastating double-overtime loss to University at Buffalo at home on Aug. 19. Binghamton gave up the go-ahead goal on a 21-yard free kick with 6:13 remaining in the second OT and went on to lose 1-0.
Two days later, the team traveled to Delaware State University and earned its first win of the season. Senior Mary Dewitte scored on a cross from junior Candice Rowland in the 33rd minute. The lone goal proved to be all the offense the Bearcats needed as they shut out the Hornets, 1-0.
On Friday, the Bearcats earned their second consecutive shutout win with a 2-0 victory over St. Joseph’s University. Senior Taylor Kucharski assisted in a 54th minute go-ahead goal by junior Brittany Walsh. Rowland assisted in sophomore Kaitlyn Martin’s game-sealing score with three minutes left to play.
But the Bearcats, in pursuit of their third consecutive win, hit a road bump on Sunday with an 1-0 overtime loss to St. Bonaventure University.
Binghamton, now 2-2, plays five more non-conference games, three of them on the road, before it starts an eight-game stretch of conference play on Sept. 25 at University of Maine. The Bearcats will have the comfort of knowing their last two conference games will be played at home against the University of Vermont and University of Maryland, Baltimore County before the postseason starts on Oct. 27 with the America East quarterfinals.